Pharmaceutical companies are announcing their plans to seek
emergency use authorization from the FDA today, and hope to begin distributing
the COVID-19 vaccine as early as next month.
Pfizer and Biontech say they
expect to produce up to 50 million doses of the vaccine by the end of this year
which could be used by those in the most high risk categories. They say they're ready to get the vaccine out within hours of authorization.
The development comes just days after the companies
announced their COVID-19 vaccine is 95% effective with no serious safety
concerns observed as of Friday.
Along with their submission to the FDA in the U.S., the
companies are also submitting applications across the globe.
The companies say that by the end of next year, they expect
to produce more than a billion doses of the vaccine for global use.
As they wait for potential authorization from the FDA, the
companies say they will continue working with governments and health
organizations around the world that will distribute the vaccine, if approved,
to ensure it can reach those most in need as quickly as possible.